Pages

"When they allow a talk show host to play them like a two-dollar banjo, they demonstrate what kind of backbone they'll bring to the job later on, if we elect them. After they get elected will they continue to allow Jeff Crank to put a nickel in them and wind them up every Saturday morning?"

Barry Noreen, former columnist, Colorado Springs Gazette

Friday, May 13, 2011

The Charlie Sheen Syndrome

On a completely different note from what I normally write about, a topic on my mind is what could be called the “Charlie Sheen syndrome.” While out last night with some friends, one was describing a friend of hers who seems to have the “Charlie Sheen Syndrome.” I stated that, maybe it was just jealousy on my part, but it seemed to be a rather superficial life-style. While as a Christian I should not be judgmental of others, I can’t understand why this would even be appealing to someone. Can you?

While not my cup of tea, I perhaps can understand why partying a lot, doing massive amounts of drugs and having sex with many different beautiful women would be appealing to a man, but only for a time. It’s one thing to “sow your wild oats” while young, but at some point wouldn’t it become rather superficial, and actually boring? An analogy would be candy versus substantive food. In moderation, candy tastes great, but not only would a diet of nothing but candy be unhealthy, wouldn’t it begin to lose its appeal? At some point, meat and potatoes would be preferable to another Reese cup!

A larger issue than just the Charlie Sheen Syndrome is what some see as the general moral degradation of our society. When I try to explain to my daughter that there used to be an unflattering, four letter word for girls who acted and dressed like Madonna, she retorts that, “every generation thinks the next one has loose moral standards.” She references the outrage of Elvis, “shaking his pelvis.” Is she right? Am I just being an old fuddy-duddy? Is dressing and acting like Madonna empowering to women? I just don’t see it that way. Isn’t a woman having to use her body and sexuality as the only way to get power what we want to get away from as a society?

I have a female friend who admires what she sees as Madonna’s strength and independence. I guess I prefer the Oprah method. Women acting as morally and sexually reprehensible as do some men, does not seem like progress.

While not big on following the gossip columns, it’s my general impression that Charlie Sheen was more looked down on than admired, which I think is encouraging. I do have one male friend who expressed admiration for Charlie’s lifestyle, but I think that was mainly bar-room banter. I have the feeling that if a Charlie Sheen type ever showed up on the doorstep wanting to date his beautiful two daughters, as in the country song, he would be inside cleaning his gun! Which is how I think it should be.

As the mother of two daughters, I worry that our society is becoming less protective of our young girls. And not only less protective, but giving them the wrong message that being promiscuous is O.K., even to be admired - ala Madonna. I know that the sexual revolution tried to portray the moral prohibition on being promiscuous as an outdated concept, as if God just made that up on a whim that could be ignored with no negative consequences. But to my way of thinking God, like all parents, does not make up rules just for the heck of it, but to keep us safe because He cares about our well-being.

To look at Charlie Sheen’s life through the eyes of the women involved, I feel bad for them. One girl interviewed said she hoped to have sex with him by the end of the night because after all, he is Charlie Sheen! As a mother, it makes me sad that a young girl would have such low esteem as to crave attention that way. My girls heard of a girl whose claim to fame was having had sex (in real life) with “Puck” from the tv show Glee. Like Charlie Sheen, I guess he is considered attractive, but probably also a walking STD swamp – hope they used a condom!

In addition to the danger of catching a STD, being promiscuous also can lead to unwanted pregnancy, which can lead to another danger for girls – an abortion. Even if a girl escapes physical harm from an abortion, there is always psychological harm – a fact that the “pro-choice” people ignore.

Hopefully the pendulum of the sexual and drug revolution has reached its zenith of going in the wrong direction, and will now start to swing back to a healthier place for society.

4 comments:

Great article on the "Charlie Sheen Show." It's progressive media that has created Charlie Sheen. Ironically, they're also the ones standing by in disbelief that someone could be like that. Frankenstein comes to mind, here.

What they always fail to account for, however, is the fact that despite their labeling wanton sexual activity as "progressive," it's as old as humanity; and civilization has regularly rejected such things as non-marital sex, GLBT normalcy and infanticide. In truth, they didn't create a monster in Charlie Sheen...they created a caveman.

I really enjoyed this article and have to agree with Emilio as well. Promiscuity and rampant sexual activity out of borders has been around since the early beginning of time. It has cause wars in many empires, murders, splitting of families and even separation and origination of religious groups/factions/cults. It has never been a progressive or desirable trait.

As a women it is extremely disappointing to me how women feel a need to sell themselves sexually for popularity, fame, big breaks, etc. Just when you think someone is modest and could be looked up to as a role model for success you have them come out with the most over the top thing. Being "sexual" doesn't equal power, value or anything. It means you are like ever other woman who has a period and can reproduce.

I wish instead of being married to fame and paychecks, we will find more women doing great things and help our daughters and other women even in our peers to recognize they have more to offer the world and to themselves than a vagina.

I hope that I can inspire my daughter through nontraditional people who accomplish great things in her areas of interest and focus her there. I hope I can show her being empowered means being superior in your talents or work through hard work, focus and a desire to constantly achieve more. That power, a paycheck and popularity can be as fleeting as a kite on thin string. I hope I can show her that every time we take a morality detour as a culture, we see dramatic increases in suicide, disease, terminating babies lives through abortion or post delivery, alcoholism and drug addiction, depression, etc.

It's sad and disheartening to see these women, that this is what it's all about... until they are older and either their children are either finding out what their parents were like (because we all know there is no such thing as a secret)or are re-enacting their lives... or they are single because they are worn out with 5 kids with 5 different dads, barely scraping by with no support... or they are dying from a very real disease, AIDS. I believe the more we can expose our kids to the truth and where this leads us (like bringing your kids to an open AA meeting), encouraging positive role models who are successful in their talents and craft (outside Hollywood cause there is more to life than that), and being positive role models at home we can make a positive impact.

Better yet, Hollywood, who is the enlightened empowered women world-- what do they have? Divorces, losing custody of kids, addictions, depression and suicide wrapped in promiscuous size -4, 28DD bodies. Like a high end sports car with a rotting interior and no engine.

Rosie the Rivetor (who I have kept at my desk over the years) was a powerful women because of what she achieved, rolling her sleeves up. Not who she achieved in bed.

Great Article, Lady Burke. Unfortunately most young people believe that history started when they first made their appearance on planet earth. An objective look at history, however, shows that some people noted in history are dead, dozens of them actually Aristotle and Plato for example.

Sadly, I plead guilty to it as a child of the sixties, I thought I was much smarter than my parents and like Mark Twain, having left home at 19, by 25, I just couldn't believe how much they had learned in 6 years.

It must be very stressing to work with a daughter particularly, this, because young women, are more brutally exploited than anyone else in society.

Sooner or later however, a young woman must embrace these lines: "I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul." Until then they will suffer, sometimes terribly. It is the penultimate in arrogance for a person or a nation to tell someone, particularly a young woman what they must believe, think, say or write, and worse that they must accept the surrender of their personal sovereignty, in particular the surrender to sexual exploitation as the cost of social acceptance or the avoidance of social banishment. Teach your daughter these lines. Encourage her to read of virtuous women. I am certain that you are an excellent mother. I appreciate your contributions. Robert Harkins

Jessica, I have a "Rosie the Rivetor" button, with Sarah Palin as Rosie, saying, "With Palin we can do it." Too bad Palin got crucified by the press and even worse that so many people fell for it. When I heard her speak during her campaign, I thought she was the next Reagan. I was really ready for a female president, especially as I think women are more discriminated against than black men (who got to vote before women did).

Emilio, good point that sexual immorality is not a new issue. And it really has caused many problems over the millenia.

Robert Harkins, good advice. Perhaps I will print out a banner with the, "master of my fate..." quote. It would be good for both boys and girls to remember this.

Maybe all parents wish they had a "do-over". My husband's grandmother once told me that people should have one set of kids to practice on before getting their own. Interesting, if impossible idea. But despite my flaws, I had a great mother's day - appreciation from my daughters. I'm starting to look forward to grand-motherhood!